FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A "massive shakedown" was conducted Wednesday at the Fulton County Jail, Sheriff Pat Labat said.
During a press conference in which officials addressed a recent bond ruling for a man accused of shooting an Atlanta Police officer six times, the sheriff alluded to gang activity with that individual and others being organized through the jail.
A detention officer was also stabbed earlier this month by an inmate with a makeshift knife.
Sheriff Labat said those weren't the only reasons for doing the sweep, but that it was also "the right thing to do" to maintain a safe facility.
"We have a couple hundred people right now going through every single cell, every single piece of material that we have - bedding, clothing - to ensure that we've captured shanks, homemade knives, cell phones, whatever that looks like," he said. "So, we've been very focused on creating a safe environment."
He said that improving partnerships with the District Attorney's Office, including allowing DA investigators to access the facility, as well as a closer relationship with metro police departments made it possible to conduct the operation. He also said several area agencies were involved.
"We are running a massive facility, largest in the Southeast, 3,200 inmates," Labat said. "Our goal is to have the safest jail in the industry."
The detention officer who was stabbed earlier this month, he also said, is "doing fantastic" and "excited about coming back."
But he said it was difficult, "as you can imagine, being attacked in a place that is supposedly secure, with 350 people on the floor."
So the goal, he reiterated, is to "create an environment that is more safe."